


Dead Lights, Empty Nights

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Dark, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-12 20:27:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2123568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A freakshow may not be the best place for a runaway, but when her past finally catches up with her, Blake Belladonna awakens in one.</p><p>Now, alongside the quirky members of what they have deemed Team RWBY, along with Grimm-tamers Team JNPR and a small group of acrobats, Blake is determined to uncover the secrets of the place she's been held captive. Who exactly is this 'Lady Cinder' and how can she manage to run this show without getting caught? And furthermore, what are the White Fang doing here?</p><p>Conspiracies will unravel, bit by bit, as the Vice and Virtue Circus is torn apart, one act at a time...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Ahem. Permission to enter, Lady? I have...a discovery.”

A quick gesture flicked by the sight of a young member of the White Fang. He was terrified, his fear masked by his mask, and yet this was all towards, of all things, a human woman. Though ‘woman’ was likely not an accurate way to describe her; she was quite young in appearance, dressed in a simple black trenchcoat dress at the moment of her conversation with this faunus. Her single golden eye looked away from him, the other eye obscured by her long, jet-black bangs.

“Please,” he said, “I-I’ve found another girl in the forest. She’s a faunus, and she looks quite agile! I say we put her in with-”

The young woman’s hand cut him off, a shadow within red and white stripes of the tent.

“I’ll decide her place,” she explained, looking away out of boredom, “How did you find her, anyway?”

The one she was speaking to suddenly took on a much less nervous pose at the sight of her disinterest, straightening his back and attempting to control his speech, keeping it precise and fluid.

“She was passed out on the forest floor. It seems that she had fallen from the trees after trying to escape from somebody,” he explained, “And I was hoping that we could add her to the act. I spoke with a few others, older members of the Fang, and at least a few of them knew who she was.”

“Oh?” the woman was suddenly intrigued, and now gave the faunus her full attention, “Do tell.”

“Yes!” was the reply she received, “Her name is Blake Belladonna, former member. She deserted her mentor, one Adam Taurus, during a job, before we were associated with you. And we shall show this deserter no mercy, I presume?”

“Absolutely,” the woman answered, “I’ll take care of the rest. Oh, and please, let me see her myself, right now. I’d like to start this as soon as I can.”

“Of course,” the faunus answered, “Please, Lady Cinder, put her through the worst you can...And let her put on a beautiful show.”

“Yes,” Cinder said, “You’re dismissed.”

“Wait, Lady Cind-”

“You’re _dismissed._ ”

The faunus cowered at that word, then ran. Soon after, a girl was dragged in by another White Fang, who promptly left.

* * *

 

The girl was pale, thin, almost underfed. Her long black hair draped over her shoulders and on to the ground. Though she had only been out and about a few days, her hair was matted, almost like a mass of vines, and her ears were covered by a bow. She was dressed in a gray and purple flannel nightgown, complimenting her hair.

But there was a defining feature about this girl: Aside from her sleeves having been torn, her arms had been bound to each other, as had her legs. Her golden eyes slowly began to open, and she let out a prolonged groan as she attempted to move, despite how futile her attempts were.

Cinder smiled at this, whispering a few words to herself.

Blake suddenly took on a violent demeanor, realizing the gravity of her situation.

“Let me go,” she hissed, “NOW.”

Each click of Cinder’s heels upon the ground could practically be felt in the air. Slowly, she reached down, lifting Blake by her chin and looking straight into her eyes.

“Why are you even working with them?! You’re human!” Blake snapped.

“You’re going to be our next addition to the act,” Cinder returned, “They are of no concern to you any longer. I’ll be leading you to your new living space.”

She was silent after that. In spite of numerous protests from the tired but fighting body that she carried out of the tent, Cinder walked with the same poise that she always did, as if she was unaffected by the one she held.

No efforts were made to stop or silence the cat faunus.

Instead, she was led to another tent, in front of a large cage.

“You’ll be sleeping in here,” Cinder explained, “And for tonight, before you make any rash decisions, you’ll be restrained.”

Blake nearly spat at the word ‘restrained.’ Animalistic as it was, she wanted to. She despised that word, the connotation that she was an animal and had to be trained, held back before she hurt anybody.

Of course, she was tempted to try hurting this person. Her breaths began to come out shallow, quick, harsh, as if her entire being was screaming out for her to stop moving and for her to finally let sleep come over her. At least then, she would dream, she would be away from the nightmare she had stepped into.

She barely noticed her hands being tied to a pole. Blake lay on her knees, back kept straight, feline ears exposed for the world to see.

A silver mask was placed over her face, forming a border around her eyes.

“...Perfect. Your training begins tomorrow.”

With her final parting words, Cinder left.

Sleep fell over Blake slowly, agonizingly. Her back ached horribly, especially against her attempts to correct her position. Her wrists were held tightly against the cold metal of the pole, and even if she looked into the cage nearby, she could see nothing, aside from what appeared to be something’s tail in the corner.

She hoped it wasn’t what she thought it was: Another faunus.

Soon, however, a silence washed over Blake, causing her to fall once again into the dream of a better life.

A life of freedom.

* * *

 

It wasn’t long before sunlight breached the tent.

Sunlight, accompanied by the shine of...something. It was a long, sparkling stream of fabric that reflected straight into Blake’s eyes, causing her to recoil back and let out a cry.

“I understand she’s new,” a fluid, feminine voice said, “And working with us?”

Blake could finally take a look at the cage near her. In it stood exactly what she had thought it was. The monkey faunus, though there was evidence he boasted quite a lot of strength, was obviously malnourished, not to mention his bright blonde hair was marred by dirt and quite possibly bugs. He was dressed simply, his shirt mostly unbuttoned and revealing his front.

Blake tried to choke back the rising taste of bile in her throat at the sight of this.

“Hey, look,” the other faunus said, “Look what you did to the newbie.”

There was no response to this. As Blake looked away, the girl who had walked into the tent spoke.

“I’m Weiss, by the way,” she said, “And while I’d rather not work with a faunus...Well, it seems they have other ideas.”


	2. The Performers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Common knowledge should be easy to pick up...Unless one can't move to learn anything.
> 
> However, a new ally bears potential answers...once Blake's first day is over.

“So I’m supposed to be working with you? Here?! Where I had NO choice in the matter of whether or not I actually wanted this?!” Blake snarled, struggling against her bindings, “I have one priority, and that’s escaping. I’m not going to work for anybody at this point, and the ones who run this should be well aware of-”

“Don’t,” Weiss interrupted, “Don’t refuse like that. Otherwise...You’ll end up like him.”

The girl in white pointed towards the only other person in the tent; the monkey faunus.

She cast a vicious glare at him, trying to silence him before he spoke up, but this was to no avail. He stood up, smirked, and looked Weiss straight in the eye.

“‘S better than what you go through, am I right?” he responded, “At least the kids like me.”

“I guess it’s good,” Weiss countered, “If you like having to beg for whatever scraps of food they’re willing to hand you. And are those bites on your arm? What is it this time, anyway? Fleas? Scabies? Whatever kind of bug would want to attach itself to you? And don’t forget that SOMEBODY has to entertain the poor parents whose children dragged them here. I don’t think that’s a bad position, hm?”

The one she was arguing with, as if on cue, scratched his arm sheepishly, then grinned.

“You want me to pass these things on to you? I can sure as hell do that.”

Weiss flinched at this comment. All the while, Blake sighed at this. At least the performers’ problem, from what she was seeing, was minor compared to what others were doing. At least it was senseless bickering, nothing more. At the very least, they seemed harmless enough. Blake had her suspicions, however. With a circus like this still standing, there had to be more to its story than just twisted entertainment.

The obvious question, however, was this: What exactly was the story behind Weiss? She carried herself differently than Blake had expected. With the way she was dressed, she was obviously different. Her long, flowing dress and sparkling shawl, her near-constant cocky smile, and the look she carried in her eyes...Did she come to the circus willingly?

And the faunus! Not just the caged one, but all the ones from the White Fang! Why were they here, and why were they working with humans? They had priorities, and silencing her wasn’t such a high one that they would work with a human, was it? And furthermore: Why not just kill her? These questions echoed through Blake’s head, drowning out the bickering going on around her.

Even though she was bound, she had to know what she could.

Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a few words.

“Hey. Hey. Figure we should introduce ourselves, shouldn’t we?”

Blake’s head shot back up.

“So,” the caged faunus began, “You can just call me Sun. You?”

“Oh, uh, r-right,” Blake said, “I’m Blake. I, uh...I wish we could have met under different circumstances…”

“Chill,” Sun continued, “You’re gonna get cut free for the performance. I mean, you won’t be performing yourself, not yet, but they want you to watch the last performance before we move on.”

“I’m going to ask something: Who are ‘they,’ anyway?” Blake asked.

Weiss sighed, looking back to Blake.

“It’s...complicated. I don’t know why anybody who comes here actually comes here. But they...They’re the ones running this place,” Weiss explained, “And you saw what they were willing to do. Cooperate with the White Fang like that! Honestly...After that, I’d like to leave. But with the way things are, I don’t think I can.”

“Wait, the way things a-”

“Stop questioning me, Blake,” Weiss interrupted, “You’ll find out soon enough. It’s common knowledge here.”

Blake growled at this.

“I need to know all I can, you know. I’m not going to stay here like this,” Blake hissed, “You both should know this.”

“...Don’t,” Weiss replied as she walked out of the tent, “They know that. They’re determined to keep you here...So don’t think they’ll treat you lightly. And besides. I should mention...Sun.”

Sun scowled at this. Once Weiss had left, he looked to Blake, grinning almost weakly.

“Soooo,” he began, “The performance isn’t until tonight. They’re, uh...You’re not getting outta there any time soon.”

“...What?” Blake returned.

“Yeah, uh, I’d say...Okay, listen, I’m gonna tell you the same thing I’ve told every other new guy: I’m terrible at easing you guys into the whole situation,” he said, looking away sheepishly, “But, uh...They’ll let you out at five. I mean, not OUT out, just...Listen, you can’t leave, and once today’s over, I’ll tell you, okay? There’s a lot I need to explain, and they can’t catch me. And part of that is who ‘they’ are.”

“So I just have to wait, then?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, that’s it. Not sure where you’ll be sleeping,” Sun mused, “But if you do anything, probably here. In this cage.”

“...They don’t feed you or...anything?”

“Nope, not really. Not much. You heard that girl just a second ago, I pretty much live off scraps. But, hey, I don’t blame these guys for what they did.”

Obviously, that was a lie.

“I mean, I did try to get outta here with my partner, and I did try to steal a few things on our way out.”

Sun rubbed the back of his head. Blake still wasn’t convinced about him being okay in any way.

The black-haired girl sighed.

“Sun,” Blake said, “I need to know all I can. That includes what happened to you when you tried to escape.”

“Whoa, slow down, Blake,” Sun replied, “Don’t just rush into this. Get past the first day, then we talk.”

“I’;d ask why, but...You’re right. Neither of us are in any condition to do much,” Blake lamented, “I’ll just grin and bear it for now.”

Both faunus fell silent as a man came in, dressed in a black and red suit, and promptly escorted Sun out of the tent.

Blake closed her eyes after this. Her back ached, her legs felt numb, and her dry throat and cramping stomach only made the feeling worse. She hadn’t been able to eat much during her flight from the White Fang, especially when she took shelter in the forest, and now this had to happen. She was completely starving, and Sun’s condition had told her that this wasn’t about to get any better. She sighed, trying to accept her fate.

She had slept the night before. She could fall asleep again…

Until she felt the binds around her wrists loosening.

Hours had passed since she had spoken with Weiss and Sun.

She didn’t even justify her escorts with a mere glance. She simply closed her eyes as they grabbed her shoulders, moving her to yet another tent.

Nobody said a word.

By the time she was sat down by these two, amongst an excited crowd, she had already started to feel drowsy again.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” a voice echoed, “Welcome, WELCOME to Remnant’s finest show! Where human and beast come together to create the finest sights, to perform the greatest feats! Welcome to the VICE AND VIRTUE CIRCUS!”

Even with this sudden change in volume, Blake had zoned out for much of the performance. She was desperate to sort out what she knew, and she took the one chance she would be given to do so.

Act after act happened, all unnoticed by Blake.

At least until two specific performers came out.

The way they were described made her blood boil.

“May we present...One man, one animal! Known far and wide for their finesse in air and for a partnership like no other! The crowd may know them as The Seamonkeys, but we simply call them our finest acrobats...Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias!”

Sun looked down from a high platform, as did another performer, one who seemed to be the same age as Sun. This partner, Neptune, was easily distinguished by his bright blue hair, something that any performer would want.

Even if she couldn’t make out much of either person, She noticed Sun’s tail trembling as he leapt to begin the act.

He was terrified, wasn’t he? Just as scared as Blake was, and yet he still did such a dangerous act perfectly, leaping and swinging from place to place alongside Neptune.

Blake couldn’t keep her eyes off the two. Their act seemed to fly by, however, and just as soon as it had began, it ended.

She was in awe. They were so skilled, yet they had (presumably) both been kidnapped, and likely had barely any time to train…

Blake closed her eyes after Sun and Neptune had left, the sight of their act repeating in her head, burned into her mind.

She realized that this wasn’t the worst thing she could remember about the circus. If anything, this memory would be the best part of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for taking so long! I hope this is better than the last chapter...(At least it's better than a recent kink meme fill I started...at one AM.)
> 
> I'm very excited to write more Sun/Blake interactions! I seriously love these two. I mean, Bumbleby's great and all but...These two are just as wonderful as Bumbleby. Or maybe I just love Sun a lot.

**Author's Note:**

> It's not my best work, but welcome to my new series. The pace will pick up next chapter, this is more or less a prologue!


End file.
